NICE is recommending two new biosimilar versions of one of the world's biggest selling drugs and says that these new and cheaper treatments should be used ahead of the original patented medicine.

Inflectra (infliximab), manufactured by Pfizer's newly acquired biosimilar unit Hospira, is a biosimilar version of Janssen/MSD's Remicade (infliximab) and makes more than $8bn a year in sales.

The drug gained European approval earlier this year as a biologic copy of the original treatment, and is now in draft guidance NICE-recommended for both first and second line approaches in rheumatoid arthritis. Napp's Remsima has also passed NICE's early-stage cost-effectiveness criteria for the same licence. 

This is not the first time NICE has recommended a biosimilar, and in fact Inflectra has been recommended by the Institute for treating moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis after the failure of conventional therapy.

But this is still a new area for NICE as there are few biosimilars currently on the market. 

NICE told PMLiVE that neither Hospira nor Napp have had to submit data for their drugs to the watchdog, as NICE has used previous information from Remicade's original application.

For more details, go to: http://www.pmlive.com/pharma_news/nice_recommends_infliximab_biosimilars_ahead_of_remicade_761827?